History Main / MysteryBox

* Found in, of all places, ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'' when playing Nazi Zombies. Using your points to open a box instead of purchasing a gun is a bit of a crapshoot. You may end up with a sniper rifle (which is horrible to fight zombies with at close range) or the all powerful Ray Gun.

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* Found in, of all places, ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'' all of the Treyarch-developed ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' games, starting with ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar''. It's found when playing Nazi Zombies.the ''VideoGame/NaziZombies'' mode. Using your points to open a box instead of purchasing a gun is a bit of a crapshoot. You may end up with a sniper rifle (which is horrible to fight zombies with at close range) or the all powerful Ray Gun.

** During the "Fame Game" segment, one card read "Mystery Money or Pick Again," where the contestant could take an unknown cash amount ($2 up to $2,000) or try to select another number. It later said "Mystery Money or Try Again" when the contestant could randomly pick a number by using their buzzer to choose (the number inside the lights that lit up when the buzzer was hit would be the choice).

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** During the "Fame Game" segment, one card read "Mystery Money or Pick Again," where the contestant could take an unknown cash amount ($2 up to $2,000) or try to select another number. It was later said modified to read "Mystery Money or Try Again" Again", when the board was modified to work like ''Series/PressYourLuck'' (with the contestant could randomly pick a number by using hitting their buzzer to choose (the number inside the lights that lit up when the buzzer was hit would be the choice).stop a flashing light). The 1985-86 syndicated run had "Trip or Pick Again/Try Again" instead (offering, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a trip]]).

* Eggs in ''VideoGame/PokemonGo'' are similar to ''Team Fortress 2'' Crates--they frequently drop from Pokéstops. You can't tell what's in them until they hatch, but hatched Pokémon are guaranteed to have relatively high [=IVs=]. To hatch them, you must put them in "incubators" and walk/bike a certain distance (either 2, 5, or 10 kilometers). You have one free unlimited-use incubator, so unlike Crates, you technically don't need to pay to hatch eggs; but the "orange incubator" can only hold one egg at a time, and buying additional, limited-use "blue incubators" allows you to incubate up to 9 eggs simultaneously. The game appears to [[AllegedlyFreeGame make the vast majority of its income]] from incubator sales.

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* Eggs in ''VideoGame/PokemonGo'' are similar to ''Team Fortress 2'' Crates--they Crates. They frequently drop from Pokéstops. You Pokéstops, and you can't tell what's in them until they hatch, but hatched Pokémon are guaranteed to have relatively high [=IVs=]. To hatch them, you must put them in "incubators" and walk/bike a certain distance (either 2, 5, or 10 kilometers). You have one free unlimited-use incubator, so unlike Crates, you technically don't need to pay to hatch eggs; but the "orange incubator" can only hold one egg at a time, and buying additional, limited-use "blue incubators" allows you to incubate up to 9 eggs simultaneously. The game appears to [[AllegedlyFreeGame make the vast majority of its income]] from incubator sales.

* Eggs in ''VideoGame/PokemonGo'' are similar to ''Team Fortress 2'' Crates--they frequently drop from Pokéstops. You can't tell what's in them until they hatch, but hatched Pokémon are guaranteed to have relatively high [=IVs=]. To hatch them, you must put them in "incubators" and walk/bike a certain distance (either 2, 5, or 10 kilometers). You have one free unlimited-use incubator, so unlike Crates, you technically don't need to pay to hatch eggs; but the "orange incubator" can only hold one egg at a time, and buying additional, limited-use "blue incubators" allows you to incubate up to 9 eggs simultaneously. The game appears to [[AllegedlyFreeGame make the vast majority of its income]] from incubator sales.

* This was actually the mechanic for the game ''VideoGame/ToeJamAndEarl''. Players would start off with a random assortment of presents. Trial and error (and bribery) was the only way to discover what was in each type of box, which could just as easily have a helpful item or a free life as spawn an Earthling or bring instant death. Of course all your hard work went out the window if you managed to hit a Randomizer.

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* This was actually the mechanic for the game ''VideoGame/ToeJamAndEarl''. Players would start off with a random assortment of presents. Trial and error (and bribery) was the only way to discover what was in each type of box, which could just as easily have a helpful item or a free life as spawn an Earthling or bring instant death. Of course all your hard work went out the window if you managed to hit a Randomizer. The game also features traditional mystery boxes with a large question mark on them that don't even let you know what type they are until opened.

* Russian game show ''What? Where? When?'' (adapted as ''Series/MillionDollarMindGame'' in the US) has these quite frequently. Usually, a team of six experts are given a description of what's inside the box, and they should guess what is it.* Also from Russia, ''Pole chudes'' a sort-of remake/variation of ''Wheel Of Fortune'', does it the following way: if a player ends up on the "Prize" section of the wheel, he or she may choose to have a black box brought into the studio. Then the host gives an option to choose between the prize inside the box and an amount of money, which gets progressively bigger. The prizes in question are absolutely random, ranging from an automobile to (most notoriously) a head of cabbage. The player leaves the game after that. (He or she may opt to continue the game instead, though.)

* This was actually the mechanic for the game ''VideoGame/ToeJamAndEarl''. Players would start off with a random assortment of presents. Trial and error (and bribery) was the only way to discover what was in each type of box, which could just as easily have a helpful item or a free life as spawn an Earthling or bring instant death. Of course all your hard work went out the window if you managed to hit a Randomizer.

* In ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' pricing game "1/2 Off", there are 16 boxes, one of which has $10,000 in cash. A player can remove half the empty boxes at a time if they can correctly determine if certain prizes are listed at full-price or half off, and narrow down to the box containing the cash.

[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]* In Music/WeirdAlYankovic's ''Film/{{UHF}}'', there is a game show parody called ''Wheel of Fish''. The contestant wins a very tasty red snapper fish, but is given the choice to take a box. The contestant chooses the box and is mocked: "You took the box! Let's see what's in the box!" ... ''(box is opened; audience gasps)'' ... "NOTHING! Absolutely NOTHING! Stupid! You're so stupid!"[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

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[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]* In Music/WeirdAlYankovic's ''Film/{{UHF}}'', there is a game show parody called ''Wheel of Fish''. The contestant wins a very tasty red snapper fish, but is given the choice to take a box. The contestant chooses the box and is mocked: "You took the box! Let's see what's in the box!" ... ''(box is opened; audience gasps)'' ... "NOTHING! Absolutely NOTHING! Stupid! You're so stupid!"[[/folder]]

* The UrExample may be ''Pick a Box'', one of the earliest shows on Australian TV. It started on radio in 1948, moved to television in 1957 and ran until 1971. The CatchPhrase of the program was "The money or the box?".

* At one point in ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'', Eric tries to bribe some information out of a hotel desk clerk. The clerk refuses to divulge the information for "Mr. Washington" (a $1 bill) but says he might for "Mr. Franklin" (a $100 bill).-->'''Eric:''' Mr. Franklin isn't here, but how about two Mr. Lincolns ''($5 bills)'' and ... a mystery bag! ''(pulls out small bag with a clown face on it and dangles it in front of the clerk)'' Maybe it's good. Maybe it's not.* On ''Series/JustShootMe'', Nina wants a raise, and Jack offers her one... or what's inside the box. She takes the box, of course, which only has a picture of an ugly baby inside (it's one of Maya's baby photos).* ''Pick a Box'' was one of the earliest shows on Australian TV. It started on radio in 1948, moved to television in 1957 and ran until 1971. The catchPhrase of the program was "The money or the box?".* Parodied regularly on ''Series/TheLateLateShow''. Craig will ''imagine'' a box, [[InsaneTrollLogic the contents of which he somehow does not know, and ask the guest to guess what's in it]]. They always guess "correctly."* Inverted in several cooking shows, most notably ''Series/{{Chopped}}''. The mystery boxes are what contestants compete ''with'', as they contain ingredients (and occasionally other instructions.)

[[folder:Video Games]]* Found in, of all places, ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'' when playing Nazi Zombies. Using your points to open a box instead of purchasing a gun is a bit of a crapshoot. You may end up with a sniper rifle (which is horrible to fight zombies with at close range) or the all powerful Ray Gun.* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' has the "Mann Co. Supply Crate" that randomly drops along with everything else. To open it you need to buy a key from the ingame store for $2.50USD. These crates can contain commonly dropped weapons (enjoy your $2 Equalizer), paint to recolour your hats or a special hat that has a particle effect applied to it. These hats have a <1% chance of actually being in a crate.** The crates became more valued with the introduction of "Strange" weapons that [[BodyCountCompetition count your kills]]. Now, all weapons obtained from crates, with the exception of certain holiday crates, are Strange, making the deal a bit more fair. Those particle effect hats are still ridiculously rare, though.* Be careful when opening a "mysterious present" in ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing''; it might contain a random gift item, but it also might contain a boxing glove on a spring, which will punch you for severe damage if you open the box.* Players that bought a lifetime subscription in ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'' can give up their subscriber benefits for a month for a Mystery Box that contains either nothing, a pitiful amount of in-game money, or rare and powerful endgame items.

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[[folder:Video Games]][[folder:Film -- Live Action]]* Found in, of all places, ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'' when playing Nazi Zombies. Using your points to open a box instead of purchasing a gun In Music/WeirdAlYankovic's ''Film/{{UHF}}'', there is a bit game show parody called ''Wheel of Fish''. The contestant wins a crapshoot. You may end up with a sniper rifle (which very tasty red snapper fish, but is horrible to fight zombies with at close range) or given the all powerful Ray Gun.* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' has choice to take a box. The contestant chooses the "Mann Co. Supply Crate" that randomly drops along with everything else. To open it you need to buy a key from box and is mocked: "You took the ingame store for $2.50USD. These crates can contain commonly dropped weapons (enjoy your $2 Equalizer), paint to recolour your hats or a special hat that has a particle effect applied to it. These hats have a <1% chance of actually being box! Let's see what's in a crate.** The crates became more valued with the introduction of "Strange" weapons that [[BodyCountCompetition count your kills]]. Now, all weapons obtained from crates, with the exception of certain holiday crates, are Strange, making the deal a bit more fair. Those particle effect hats are still ridiculously rare, though.* Be careful when opening a "mysterious present" in ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing''; it might contain a random gift item, but it also might contain a boxing glove on a spring, which will punch you for severe damage if you open the box.* Players that bought a lifetime subscription in ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'' can give up their subscriber benefits for a month for a Mystery Box that contains either nothing, a pitiful amount of in-game money, or rare and powerful endgame items.box!" ... ''(box is opened; audience gasps)'' ... "NOTHING! Absolutely NOTHING! Stupid! You're so stupid!"

[[folder:Web Animation]]* When ''WebAnimation/BarbieLifeInTheDreamhouse'' has Skipper host the game show ''I'm Barbie's BFF!'', she begins the final round by asking if any of the contestants would like to open Door #3. Raquelle refuses, recalling how many other game shows have lame consolation prizes. [[spoiler: It later turns out Door #3 had Ken behind it, leaving Raquelle frustrated on how close she came to taking him away from Barbie.]]

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[[folder:Web Animation]][[folder:Other Live Action TV]]* When ''WebAnimation/BarbieLifeInTheDreamhouse'' has Skipper host At one point in ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'', Eric tries to bribe some information out of a hotel desk clerk. The clerk refuses to divulge the game show ''I'm Barbie's BFF!'', she begins the final round by asking if any information for "Mr. Washington" (a $1 bill) but says he might for "Mr. Franklin" (a $100 bill).-->'''Eric:''' Mr. Franklin isn't here, but how about two Mr. Lincolns ''($5 bills)'' and ... a mystery bag! ''(pulls out small bag with a clown face on it and dangles it in front of the clerk)'' Maybe it's good. Maybe it's not.* On ''Series/JustShootMe'', Nina wants a raise, and Jack offers her one... or what's inside the box. She takes the box, of course, which only has a picture of an ugly baby inside (it's one of Maya's baby photos).* Parodied regularly on ''Series/TheLateLateShow''. Craig will ''imagine'' a box, [[InsaneTrollLogic the contents of which he somehow does not know, and ask the guest to guess what's in it]]. They always guess "correctly."* Inverted in several cooking shows, most notably ''Series/{{Chopped}}''. The mystery boxes are what contestants would like to open Door #3. Raquelle refuses, recalling how many compete ''with'', as they contain ingredients (and occasionally other game shows have lame consolation prizes. [[spoiler: It later turns out Door #3 had Ken behind it, leaving Raquelle frustrated on how close she came to taking him away from Barbie.]]instructions.)

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[[folder:Video Games]]* Found in, of all places, ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'' when playing Nazi Zombies. Using your points to open a box instead of purchasing a gun is a bit of a crapshoot. You may end up with a sniper rifle (which is horrible to fight zombies with at close range) or the all powerful Ray Gun.* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' has the "Mann Co. Supply Crate" that randomly drops along with everything else. To open it you need to buy a key from the ingame store for $2.50USD. These crates can contain commonly dropped weapons (enjoy your $2 Equalizer), paint to recolour your hats or a special hat that has a particle effect applied to it. These hats have a <1% chance of actually being in a crate.** The crates became more valued with the introduction of "Strange" weapons that [[BodyCountCompetition count your kills]]. Now, all weapons obtained from crates, with the exception of certain holiday crates, are Strange, making the deal a bit more fair. Those particle effect hats are still ridiculously rare, though.* Be careful when opening a "mysterious present" in ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing''; it might contain a random gift item, but it also might contain a boxing glove on a spring, which will punch you for severe damage if you open the box.* Players that bought a lifetime subscription in ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'' can give up their subscriber benefits for a month for a Mystery Box that contains either nothing, a pitiful amount of in-game money, or rare and powerful endgame items.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]* When ''WebAnimation/BarbieLifeInTheDreamhouse'' has Skipper host the game show ''I'm Barbie's BFF!'', she begins the final round by asking if any of the contestants would like to open Door #3. Raquelle refuses, recalling how many other game shows have lame consolation prizes. [[spoiler: It later turns out Door #3 had Ken behind it, leaving Raquelle frustrated on how close she came to taking him away from Barbie.]][[/folder]]

* The titular BonusRound on ''Series/ShopTilYouDrop''. Presented with six mystery boxes, a team has 1:30 to open each and decide whether to keep the gift inside or exchange it for another gift at one of the stores in the mall. Exchanged gifts were only opened at the time of TheReveal while the total value of the prizes was added up; during the first two season (when the total to reach to win was $1,000 instead of $2,500), some of the boxes contained {{Zonk}}s that only added a few dollars to the team's total.

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